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Intel has reportedly received the remaining CHIPS Act grants, according to CFO David Zinsner. This move has significantly improved the company’s balance sheet.
Intel’s Balance Sheet Improves Following Trump Administration Deal
A few days ago, Intel made headlines due to its deal with the Trump administration, which will grant them a 10% stake in the firm. Adjusted under the CHIPS Act grants, this deal is now budget-neutral. At the Deutsche Technology Conference, Zinsner revealed that Intel received $5.7 billion in CHIPS Act grants and is in a strong financial position.
We were already planning to solidify our balance sheet, given Lip-Bu’s strategy. This was a quick way of getting $5.7 billion on the balance sheet. We received it last night.
This move allowed Intel to avoid capital markets for financial access and gain confidence from the Trump administration, which is crucial for the company’s future. Zinsner believes this backing will help secure key customers in the region, a crucial step for Intel Foundry Services (IFS). He also stated that there’s little chance Intel would give up its majority stake in the foundry division.
We are structuring things to separate ERP systems and create a separate management board for the foundry. But I don’t think we would take our stake below 50%.
Zinsner provided an update on the foundry division’s progress, noting that 18A is performing well and yield rates are growing as they approach High Volume Manufacturing (HVM). Panther Lake is also on track, with the first SKU expected by Q4 2025. Zinsner mentioned financial implications for creating capacity for nodes like 14A and 18A but noted that Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, is more confident than ever, especially regarding 14A.
Despite being sluggish in the consumer business, particularly desktop and server CPU segments, Zinsner expressed optimism about upcoming lineups such as Nova Lake and Coral Rapids. He believes these architectures will put Intel in a better position.
